MINIMUN BIDS REDUCED FOR OFFSHORE OIL LEASES

By ROBERT D. HERSHEY Jr., Special to the New York Times

Published: May 7, 1987

WASHINGTON, May 6—
President Reagan, seeking to cut the nation's dependence on foreign oil, today announced a sharp reduction in the minimum bids required for Federal offshore leases and said he favored increasing the rate at which the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was being filled.

In addition, the President urged Congress to consider two tax-law changes that he said would spur oil exploration and development and prolong the life of existing fields.

Today's recommendations, which are expected to become a legislative package, result from a comprehensive review of American energy security ordered by the President last fall. That report, published by the Energy Department in March, projected that the United States would need to import 50 percent of its oil needs by the 1990's, compared with about 33 percent now. 'More Remains to Be Done'

In a letter to Congress, Mr. Reagan said today that because of previous actions, including the lifting of price and allocation controls and the buildup of allied stockpiles, the country is capable of withstanding a supply disruption comparable to those of 1973 and 1979 without suffering ''the same economic distress.'' But he added, ''More remains to be done.''

The President thus ordered that the minimum bid for offshore tracts be cut immediately to $25 an acre, from $150. This restores the minimum to the level that prevailed from 1954 to 1983 when, at a time of high prices and intense exploration activity, it was raised to the current level.

The lower minimum bids are expected to increase the attractiveness of offshore acreage to oil companies at a time when oil prices remain below $20 a barrel.

A spokesman for the Interior Department said today that a recent test sale of Gulf of Mexico acreage with a $25 minimum raised three times as much money as a comparable sale at $150 last year.

To increase the national oil stockpile, which is intended to provide insurance against a future disruption in supply, Mr. Reagan said he was ''prepared to support'' raising the fill rate to 100,000 barrels a day, provided savings could be made elsewhere in the budget to pay for this. The current fill rate for the reserve, which contains more than 500 million barrels, is 75,000 barrels a day. Coalition Assails Proposals

A coalition of 18 of the nation's largest environmental, consumer and religious groups promptly assailed the White House recommendations, calling them ''Band-Aid measures, which will make America's energy vulnerable instead of secure.''

They said the Administration has ''totally ignored'' the potential for improved energy efficiency and for greater use of such renewable sources as solar and wind energy.

As previously reported, the Administration decided not to adopt Energy Secretary John S. Herrington's recommendation that the 27 1/2 percent depletion allowance be restored for all new oil production. Currently, only small producers get this tax benefit and at a rate of only 15 percent. Change Urged in Income Limit

But Mr. Reagan did urge Congress today to consider doubling the net income limitation on the depletion allowance so that small producers can apply it against all their income from each property instead of against just half of it.

Another tax change proposed today would repeal the ''transfer rule'' so that the depletion allowance can be used for proven properties that have changed ownership.

The Administration also reaffirmed its support for other longstanding proposals. These include repealing the ''windfall profits'' tax, lifting the remaining price controls on natural gas, requiring pipeline operators to transport spot-market gas, reforming the licensing for nuclear power plants and permitting ''environmentally sound'' exploration and development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.